Patrick Leahy actually said...

We did pass the Federal hate crime legislation in 1968 in the wake of the assassination of civil rights icon Martin Luther King.

I would just say, therefore, that when we now carve out a different class of people that may also deserve that kind of protection, we need, ...

I commend Senator Kennedy for his leadership in this effort over the years.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act has been pending in the Senate for more than a decade.